Sheet South China Morning Postreported that a senior official of the US Space Force recently revealed that the Pentagon is planning to deploy MRTs, which are ground-based devices that can directly interfere with and cripple satellites.
An MRT developed by the US to jam and disable satellites
Photo: US Space Force
New turning point
Reply Adolescent Yesterday (January 12), Dr. Satoru Nagao (Hudson Research Institute, USA) explained the above US move.
First, according to Mr. Nagao, space mastery is an important area of military activities. The importance of space has been recognized since the Cold War. And during the 1991 Gulf War, America’s space dominance helped the country create absolute superiority on the battlefield. But in 2000, the US Senate Space Committee also determined that the US military system had a weakness: it relied on space systems but space systems were not protected. For example, when the US launches the Tomahawk cruise missile, target identification, missile guidance, outcome determination, and all communications rely on space satellites, including intelligence satellites, Global positioning satellite system (GPS), communication satellites… If these satellites are attacked due to lack of protection, Tomahawk missiles cannot hit the target. Therefore, the space system is very important to the US military but lacks protection.
Second, how to respond to space war is still unclear in the world. Deploying and maintaining systems in space is costly. The only way to stop an enemy attack is to retaliate. If an enemy attacks a satellite, being able to attack the enemy satellite is the most viable defense method today. Therefore, the US, China, Russia and India have deployed satellite attack weapon systems (ASAT).
Meanwhile, today’s space system is also exploited for civilian purposes a lot, so if a space war occurs, the economic damage will be huge.
Third, the United States is determining the role of the recently established space force as important, but how to fight in space is difficult to determine. Now that space forces are in charge of deploying ground systems to jam enemy systems, this means that the role of space forces will also expand in other areas related to war. space painting.
In fact, during the Ukraine conflict, Russia recently also sought to jam Starlink satellites in an attempt to disable many types of Ukrainian weapons.
“Up to now, most countries do not have independent space forces but are only part of the air force. However, after the US expanded the role of independent space forces, countries can run a similar race,” Dr. Nagao predicted.
In 2019, the US established the Space Force as a military branch alongside the army, air force and navy.
Hot in the Indo-Pacific
Also according to the US Space Force, a significant number of MRTs are located in the Indo-Pacific region.
The main target of these devices is China’s expanding satellite surveillance network, especially the Yaogan family of satellites. According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, USA), Dao Sensor satellites from space can track car-sized objects on the ground, providing information to the North. Experience continuous surveillance capabilities for the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command.
Therefore, when the US deploys MRTs to the Indo-Pacific, it is likely that China will also deploy similar devices, making observers worry about “a series of electronic warfare that will act as a prelude to future wars.” future war”. Beijing and Washington have recently had tensions surrounding the US Space Force. At the end of December 2024, China called on the US to reconsider its “dangerous actions” in space after deploying a Space Force stationed in Japan. Previously, from 2022, the US also deployed a unit of its Space Force to station in Korea. The above mentioned moves by the US take place in the context that this country and its allies are looking for ways to counter advanced weapons from China, Russia and North Korea in the region.
